The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS)http://www.bshs.org.uk
The British Society for the History of ScienceWed, 21 Feb 2018 08:53:48 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.426187421Book Launch: Rohan Deb Roy’s Malarial Subjectshttp://www.bshs.org.uk/book-launch-rohan-deb-roys-malarial-subjects
http://www.bshs.org.uk/book-launch-rohan-deb-roys-malarial-subjects#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 08:49:01 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17462There will be a roundtable to celebrate the launch of Rohan Deb Roy’s Malarial Subjects: Empire, Medicine and Nonhumans in British India, 1820-1909 (Cambridge, 2017) on 26th February 2018 at the Royal Asiatic Society (14 Stephenson Way, Kings Cross, London NW1 2HD). The event will start at 6 pm.

A pdf of the book can be accessed here.
Details of the event can be found here.

]]>http://www.bshs.org.uk/book-launch-rohan-deb-roys-malarial-subjects/feed017462Patricia Fara on In Our Timehttp://www.bshs.org.uk/patricia-fara-on-in-our-time
http://www.bshs.org.uk/patricia-fara-on-in-our-time#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 07:33:54 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17457We are pleased to announce that Patricia Fara, President of the British Society for the History of Science and Director of Studies at Clare College, Cambridge will appear as a guest on In Our Time on Thursday 22nd Februrary at 9am (repeated at 9.30pm) discussing the life and work of Rosalind Franklin.
]]>http://www.bshs.org.uk/patricia-fara-on-in-our-time/feed017457BSHS Engagement Fellowship – Jamaican Natural Science collections at Bristol Museum & Art Galleryhttp://www.bshs.org.uk/bshs-engagement-fellowship-jamaican-natural-science-collections-at-bristol-museum-art-gallery
http://www.bshs.org.uk/bshs-engagement-fellowship-jamaican-natural-science-collections-at-bristol-museum-art-gallery#respondTue, 13 Feb 2018 08:22:40 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17451We are pleased to announce the opportunity for a current postgraduate student working in the history of science, technology and medicine, or a closely-related field, to work with the Curator of Natural Science at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to research the Jamaican Natural Science collections. The Fellowship is worth £2,000 which will support up to one month’s work (20 working days) on a part-time basis from April 2018, with further funding of up to £1,000 towards project outputs. All work is expected to be complete by the end of December 2018.

The collections to be studied comprise 3 volumes of bound herbarium (1786-1790s) collected from Jamaica by Bristol-born Dr Arthur Broughton; 4 volumes of illustrations of Jamaican natural history and accompanying handwritten text including The Elegancies of Jamaica by Reverend John Lindsay (1758-1788); and an unpublished manuscript of Robert Long containing his theorems on the natural history of Jamaica with drawings (1750s).

This placement provides the opportunity to develop and extend the enormous potential of this collection. The curators are keen to understand more about the historical and contemporary uses of the plants in food and in medicine and use these to build resources or activities that increase engagement with the collections, including preparing material for talks, digital resources, or adding to the museum’s catalogue. The museum already has links with the Natural History Museum in Jamaica, and Ujima Radio, Bristol, and the curators are keen to continue to strengthen relationships with the Jamaican communities in Bristol and Jamaica.

The successful appointee will have a unique opportunity to work within a multi-disciplinary museum. The Fellowship offers the option of carrying out collections research and gaining training in the curatorship of botanical collections in addition to developing skills in public engagement.

Application Procedure
Please send electronically or in hard copy an expression of interest of no more than one side of A4 and a CV to Rhian Rowson (rhian.rowson@bristol.gov.uk, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd, Bristol, BS8 1RL), Natural Sciences Curator, to whom enquires can also be directed by telephone (0117 9223597). The deadline for receipt of applications is 9th March 2018. For more general enquiries about the scheme contact Dr Liz Haines at outreach@bshs.org.uk.

Please note, shortlisted candidates who are not British citizens will be required to provide proof of their eligibility to work in the UK.

]]>http://www.bshs.org.uk/bshs-engagement-fellowship-jamaican-natural-science-collections-at-bristol-museum-art-gallery/feed017451CFP: Self-Fashioning Scientific Identities in the Long Nineteenth Centuryhttp://www.bshs.org.uk/cfp-self-fashioning-scientific-identities-in-the-long-nineteenth-century
Mon, 05 Feb 2018 19:06:59 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17445Self-Fashioning Scientific Identities in the Long Nineteenth Century

University of Leicester, 15th June 2018

Keynote: Dr Patricia Fara, University of Cambridge

‘You will I am sure on reflection, readily acknowledge that as a man of science I have no choice but to pursue “truth” to the best of my ability in spite of consequences[.]’

St G. J. Mivart to Charles Darwin, 1873

‘The only alteration I would suggest is that the word “Miss” should be removed. I do not like the word if it is not quite needed; and would it not be well to add a reference to my being an authorised agricultural worker?’

Eleanor Ormerod to W. B. Tegetmeier, 1898

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was no such thing as a scientist. While professional careers in science were gradually formalised, many scientific practitioners aspired to none at all. Lacking blueprints to guide their behaviour, practitioners of all descriptions had to carve out their own identities to demonstrate expertise, prestige, taste, authority. How did one comport oneself? How should one write, and where? Who should be included in the community and who excluded? Were you a natural philosopher, a savant, a man of science, a scientist, or none of the above?

Stephen Greenblatt’s now-classic study of ‘self-fashioning’ demonstrated how one might carve out for oneself ‘a distinctive personality, a characteristic address to the world, a consistent mode of perceiving and behaving’. Indeed, self-fashioning has been a valuable tool for thinking about how complex changes in scientific culture were carried out across the nineteenth century. Studying the shaping of practitioners’ identities in these terms allows us to explore the formation and negotiation of scientific communities in insightful ways.

This one-day workshop aims to bring together scholars interested in the processes through which scientific practitioners constructed identities for themselves and how these identities were, in turn, perceived by their colleagues and wider society. Although the focus will predominantly be upon the long nineteenth century, we are also happy to consider papers that speak to these issues outside this timeframe. We would particularly welcome papers that explore self-fashioning beyond the exclusive circles of English men of science. Submissions are invited on the following topics:

Gender identity and science

Class identity and science

National identity and science

Ethnicity and science

Amateurs/amateurisation and professionals/professionalisation

Popularisers and primary researchers

Self-fashioning through correspondence

Self-fashioning through literary style

The identities of scientific periodicals

Key terms, such as ‘(gentle)man of science’, ‘savant’, and ‘scientist’

Scientific practitioners in fiction, poetry, and cartoons

Papers will be 20 minutes in length, and the deadline for abstracts of up to 250 words is 9th April. We will inform accepted speakers by the 23rd April.

There will be no registration fee, and we are able to support the travel costs of postgraduates and ECRs who are accepted to speak. Those who receive this assistance may be asked to contribute a short blog post regarding their experience of the event.

The venue is yet to be confirmed, but we will advise attendees regarding accessibility as soon as this information becomes available. If you would like to discuss your specific requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us via the above email address.

]]>17445OEC Project Grants: next deadline 15th Feb 2018http://www.bshs.org.uk/oec-project-grants-next-deadline-15th-feb-2018
Mon, 05 Feb 2018 18:48:11 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17442The British Society for the History of Science Outreach and Education Committee offers grants of up to £200 to support education and outreach projects in the history of science. We have recently structured these to be awarded on a quarterly basis, and the first 2018 deadline is 15th February.

These grants are intended to generate engagement with the history of science, technology and medicine by new audiences. This might include, for example, supporting the costs of holding a public event, the creation of small public display, or the translation of research into educational resources.

If you are interested in applying for a grant then you will find the application form available here. There will be four further deadlines in 2018: 15th May, 15th August, 15th November. Please send your completed application form and any queries to Dr Elizabeth Haines – outreach@bshs.org.uk.

Just over 100 years ago, the Linnean Society admitted 15 ground-breaking Fellows – all women. To coincide with its 230th anniversary, the Society will be celebrating the first female Fellows and their contributions. This one-day event will look at these women in detail, while also exploring issues facing women today like imposter syndrome and the work/life balance of women in the field.

Short talks, discussions and activities will address these issues and encourage solutions; Dr Sandy Knapp, President-Elect (only the third female President in the Society’s history), will chair the sessions.

The event will conclude with cocktails inspired by these outstanding first female Fellows.

]]>17437SMG Journal Writing Prize – call for entrieshttp://www.bshs.org.uk/smg-journal-writing-prize-call-for-entries
Thu, 01 Feb 2018 09:27:16 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17433The submission deadline for this year’s Science Museum Group journal writing prize is 1st March 2018. The prize aims to encourage writing and publication by early career scholars, and winners will receive £500 and the chance to publish in the SMG Journal. Winning entries will be judged according to best original research article that addresses research questions in the history of science and technology, material culture, heritage, exhibitions, or science engagement.

Submission is open to all researchers in the early stages of their academic career – whatever their age – and we aim to publish the winning article in the Journal. More details are on the Journal site here. Do spread the word and send submissions (or enquires) to the editorial staff at richard.nicholls@sciencemuseum.ac.uk.

The year 2018 will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Edward Massey, a significant and important inventor of a range of horological and nautical devices. The annual meeting will celebrate the contribution of Massey and his family to the field of precision scientific instruments.

There will be a programme of nine lectures across the weekend ranging across subjects from watches and tools to nautical instruments and the role of the state.

All the details are on the AHS website here. Non-AHS members are very welcome indeed.

]]>17430Registration Open for Remembering James Petiver (1665-1718)http://www.bshs.org.uk/registration-open-for-remembering-james-petiver-1665-1718
Mon, 29 Jan 2018 18:47:47 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17417Remembering James Petiver (1665-1718)
26th April 2018
The Linnean Society of London

This day meeting marks the tercentenary of the death of James Petiver FRS, an important but often overlooked professional apothecary and compulsive natural historian in 18th-century London. Petiver made significant contributions to multiple fields of natural history, above all botany and entomology. An assiduous correspondent and collector, he successfully cultivated sources of natural historical intelligence and material from the Americas to the East Indies.

Speakers will assess Petiver’s life and legacy by deploying a range of historical and scientific disciplinary perspectives. On the 300th anniversary of his death, the meeting will set out to remember James Petiver:

• as a practising natural historian of substantial abilities and merit
• as a collector and cataloguer of natural historical specimens with enduring significance
• as a writer of both manuscript correspondence and published natural historical texts
• as an apothecary whose professional and private scientific interests mutually informed each other
• as a social networker both within London and across the globe
• as an historical figure whose legacy has been contested and which is ripe for reconsideration

]]>17417Remembering David Knight (1936-2018)http://www.bshs.org.uk/remembering-david-knight-1936-2018
Thu, 25 Jan 2018 11:08:53 +0000http://www.bshs.org.uk/?p=17420With deep regret we report the recent death of David Knight, former President of the British Society for the History of Science and editor of the journal. Eminent as a historian of chemistry, and specialising in Romanticism and the works of Humphry Davy, he was Professor of the History of Science at the University of Durham.

The Service of Thanksgiving will be at 12:30pm on Monday 5th February at St. Oswalds’s Church, Church Street, Durham.

Image: David Knight’s Voyaging in Strange Seas: The Great Revolution in Science (Yale University Press, 2015).